The Holiday
by rainbows-n-darkness
Summary: Modern AU: Anna and best friend Gwen are heading north to visit the Crawley family. John is working along side Robert at Downton Inn. With a chance meeting and a week away, will these two finally be able to find happiness? All characters belong to Fellowes.
1. Chapter 1

It was a seeming quiet night in the small town house on the outskirts of London, when all of a sudden there was a loud scream from the room down the hall. Anna Smith looked up quickly from her current task of packing her bag for her three week vacation and ran down the hall to her roommate's room.

"What happened?" the small blonde questioned as she came to a sliding halt at the door. As she took in the scene in front of her, she understood what was going on and smiled, "Oh my lord. Are you moving out? You do realize it's only three weeks, right?"

Gwen sighed loudly as she threw her hands into the air, "Yes Anna I understand that. It's just everything I want to bring with me won't bloody fit into this bloody suitcase!" She yelled as she gestured at the mountain of clothes and shoes on her bed.

Anna just shook her head as she looked at about a dozen different pairs of shoes, twenty different shirts and dresses, and at least half a dozen pairs of pants all atop what she believed was the smallest suitcase she had ever seen. "Darling why don't you call your brother and ask him to drop off one of his larger suitcases. That tiny thing isn't going to do you any good, and he's bound to have one with all the travel he does."

Gwen smiled at her roommate as she threw her red hair up into a messy bun, "What would I do without you Anna?"

"Sometimes I just don't know?" Anna laughed, earning her hard look from her friend. "Now call your brother and I'll go make us a cup of tea."

Half an hour later Gwen's brother Michael was at the door with a much larger suitcase. As Gwen excitedly ran upstairs to complete her packing, leaving Anna and Michael alone in the living room.

"Thanks for coming by so quickly, your sister was having a very real packing dilemma." Anna laughed as she handed him a cup of tea.

"Not a problem at all, not like I had an plans tonight." He laughed at himself. "Also gives me a chance to see my sister's very pretty roommate."

Anna looked down awkwardly at her hands. She didn't hate to hear she was beautiful, it was just made her uncomfortable when it came from her roommate's younger brother. Michael was a very attractive young man if she was truly honest, and she never knew how to handle it when he offered he complements like this. "I'm sure your mates are waiting for you at the pub, and it will be filled with lots of pretty girls who will swoon over you."

"It's too bad the one girl I want to swoon over me doesn't though." He took a step closer to her.

Holding her ground Anna sighed, "Please Michael, you know I've just gotten out of a long relationship and I'm not ready to date. You're a sweet boy, it just wouldn't work. I'm sorry."

"I'm not a boy Anna. I know you might think you're not ready to date, but I think you are." He put his mug down and was reaching for Anna's hand when they heard someone clear their throat.

"Hope I'm interrupting something." Gwen said, "Shouldn't you be heading out Michael? Anna and I have a lot to do tonight."

At that Michael turned away from Anna and walked to the door with his sister. Gwen came back shortly after and found Anna sitting on the arm of the sofa. "Why won't he get the hint Gwen? He's a nice bloke and everything, but I'm just not interested and he won't seem to drop it."

"Well he's a guy, and an idiot. He's my brother and even I don't think he's that great of a guy. But I did tell him off when I sent him on his way out the door." Gwen stated as she walked towards the kitchen, pulled out two beers and walked back to her friend, "And anyways, we're going to be leaving tomorrow and we aren't going to let that little prick ruin it are we?"

Anna took the beer and smiled up at her friend, "Definitely not. Shall we get back to packing? We've got an early start in the morning." Anna was very excited to be getting away from the hustle and bustle of city life, and enjoy some peace and quiet in the country side with friends.

As the pair walked up the stairs to the bedrooms Gwen looked to Anna, "Could you help me with a couple of shirts, I can't quite decide whether or not I want to bring them with me or not."

"Certainly, milady. Can't have you running around up north if you're not in the right attire." Anna replied with a curtsey and a giggle, earning her a smack from Gwen.

They worked quietly at picking out the right shirts for Gwen to take with them. As Gwen packed the last of the shirts she turned to see Anna fiddling with one of the rings she was wearing. "I hope you're not letting what Michael did get to you."

"It's definitely not that. I'm just ready to find a good guy."

"Well maybe you'll meet a nice bloke while we're away." Gwen suggested. "But make sure he has a brother for me though."

"Really Gwen? I'm not leaving for a vacation away with you so that I can fall in love with some man up north."

"First off Anna, no one said anything about love. I'm sure there will be many nights out with Sybil and Mary at the pub, and who knows who you might meet there." Anna raised an eyebrow at her. "And no, I'm not saying bed every man you meet."

Anna just shook her head at her friend and returned to her room, thinking as she finished up her packing. She wasn't completely against meeting new people while she was on vacation, she just didn't have a good track record of meeting nice guys at pubs. That's where she had met Ciaran, and look where that landed her. He was a nice bloke at first, taking her out for dinner and treating her like a queen in front of their friends. They were happy, or at least she thought they were. After six months of dating, they moved in together. That when she began to notice things changing. Ciaran began to work longer, and usually came home drunk. She felt like she was in college again, dating the captain of the football team. It was a month ago when Anna had found them. She was returning home early from a business trip. She only stayed in the apartment as long as was required to gather up most of her belongs and she was out the door. She never found out how long he had been sleeping with her, nor did she care. She immediately turned to Gwen, and was welcomed into her friend's apartment as soon as she had turned up with bags of her things. After a couple weeks of discussion with friends, the ladies decided it was time Anna took some vacation and here they were packing for three weeks away with their friends Mary and Sybil Crawley.

* * *

It was a warm day in the small countryside of Yorkshire. John Bates was busy outside the hotel checking the most recent delivery for the hotel's restaurant. There was one month left in the busy summer season and John was ready for some time off and a break from work.

"Sir?" the delivery truck driver asked, shaking John out of his day dream of a week away on the rocky shores of Ireland with a beautiful woman by his side.

"Sorry. That's everything then?" John asked as he took the clipboard and signed. "Thanks again for the last minute delivery. See you next week."

"Not a problem sir. Have a good day." The driver smiled and returned to the back of his truck to get ready to leave.

John closed the delivery door and walked back through the kitchen towards the main offices. It was still fairly quiet in the kitchen with the workers slowly arriving to start their day's work. As he rounded the corner he saw that Robert's office light was on. _That's strange, Robert is never this early_, John thought to himself as he continued towards Robert's office.

"You're here early Robert. Cora kick you out this morning?" he said with a smirk.

"Very funny Bates. Cora is on the rampage getting the house ready for the girls' friends coming to visit, so I thought I would escape the chaos and come to work." Robert groaned. "How do you do this every day. I'm exhausted."

"You get used to it after a while," John smiled taking the seat in front of Robert's desk. "How long are your visitors in town? Does this mean we'll be seeing more of Mr. Crawley at Downton Inn for the next couple of weeks?"

"Possibly. There will be a lot of women running around my house, so you better come over and save me when I need it."

"Ah to be young and wild again." John joked.

"Yes, those were the days." Robert laughed along. "Speaking of young and reckless, any updates on the matter of Mrs. Bates or hopefully the former Mrs. Bates?"

"If only she was the former. She's run off again and I'm not sure what to do anymore. As long as she leaves me be I'll be fine. Not that I'll be interested in anyone every again, or them in me for that matter. I've turned into quite the old man."

"Leave it then. No bother worrying over it if there's nothing to be done." Robert sighed as he continued to look at his computer screen. "All these ruddy emails are driving me up the wall!"

"Why not take a couple days?" John suggested. "I'm sure Mr. Carson, Mrs. Hughes, and I can keep everything under control."

"I completely agree with you Bates, but it's high time you took some time off yourself."

"There's no reason for me to take time off. No family to visit, no wife to take out of town." John shrugged. "Anyways, I enjoy my work, and you wouldn't last two days without me."

Robert laughed as his friend left, "Bugger off Bates. I have emails to read!" Unfortunately for Robert, John was right, the hotel wouldn't have made it as far as this without his help.

Later that evening after work John received a text from Robert inviting him over for drinks and a little poker. As he made his way up the path, he noticed there was a lot of commotion coming from the large house. He approached the large door and rang the doorbell. Instantly the sounds of claws on hard wood and the ringing of barks could be heard as the house pet, Isis, charged the front door. This was soon followed by the loud booming voice of his friend Robert who quickly opened the door. "Ah John. Come in. How are you old fellow?" Opening the door to allow John to enter.

"I'm well. How are you my friend? Still getting ready for your visitors I see?" John said as he took off his jacket. "Doesn't seem to be in complete chaos."

Robert laughed as they walked into the large living room where they found Cora sitting on the couch ready a book. "Bates is here darling."

Cora looked up from her novel, "Evening John. How are you?"

"I can't complain. Ready for the weekend though." He said with a soft smile.

"Robert tells me you're taking the next two weeks off. Is that true?" Cora continued.

John coughed on his scotch as he heard Cora's question, "Well that's news to me. It'd be nice but there's nothing I need more than work to distract me from the mess of my life."

"Vera still giving you trouble then?"

"That's putting it nicely. She's run off again. But I'm not bothered either way, as I was telling Robert earlier."

"Ah well, she was a retched woman anyways." Robert added, taking a drink of his whiskey.

"Robert!" Cora scolded.

Laughing, John replied, "Never heard truer words." He raised his glass to Robert.

"Now Bates, we are taking the girls and their friends to our beach house this coming Tuesday. Cora and I would love to have you join us." John Looked to be about to argue but Robert raised his hand to stop him, "We won't take no for an answer, and no more of your silly excuses. It's already been cleared up with Carson and he says everything will be under control."

John shrugged with a sigh, "Obviously I don't have a choice in the matter."

Putting her book down, Cora looked at both men. "Oh good. It'll be such a good trip, and you'll love the girls' friends. They're both lovely."

John just smiled as he took another sip of his drink. It looked like he was going to get his vacation away after all, maybe not with a lovely woman his side, but a trip with the Crawley's was never a disappointment. And who knows, this might be just the thing his life needed.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N****: Sorry for the late update. Life happens sometimes, and writer block, and yeah... Anyways, thank you for all the lovely reviews. **

**Disclaimer****: Unfortunately Downton Abbey and the characters are not mine. **

*beep beep beep*

It was the morning of their departure and Anna would have traded anything for another hour or two of sleep. She hadn't been sleeping well for the last couple weeks and she was still getting use to getting through the day on very little rest. Sighing she rolled over and shut off her phone alarm. She began to rub the sleep from her eyes as she listened to the sound of movement coming from the hall. 3...2...1... As if on cue there was a knock on her door.

"Are you up yet Anna?"

"Barely, but you can come in." Anna answered as she rolled into a seated position as Gwen walked in. "I hate that you're a morning person by the way."

"You can't hate me for something I can't help! Besides we got to get going!" Gwen said as she got up from the bed. "They're expecting use for afternoon tea. Now get up and lets hit the road."

Anna sighed as Gwen skipped out of her room. She picked up her phone and noticed she had two texts from her friend Daisy, and a missed call from her mother. She decided it was best to get the call with her mom over as soon as possible. Ever since her father had died several years ago, her mother had become very reliant on their mother-daughter relationship. She hit the call button and her mom answered after only a couple rings.

"Hello darling."

"Hiya mum. How are you?"

"I'm well darling. Just wanted to check in with you before you left with Gwen. You girls all ready?"

"I'm not falling off the face of the earth mum, you can still call and text me." she sighed. "as for being ready I believe so. I've just got to get up and ready, and then we'll be out the door and on the road."

"Well you girls are going to have a lovely time, and who knows you may even meet a nice fella." Anna could hear the suggestive tone in her voice.

"I'm not getting into this again with you mother. I've told you that I'm not ready to date yet. This vacation is about getting away from work, life, and especially men for that matter." She groaned.

"Don't close yourself off to the universe pet. You never know when or where you could bump into the right person."

Anna just laughed, "Whatever you say mum. I'm hanging up now. Gwen's signally it's time to go."

"Alright darling. Love you. Givemy love to Gwen. Let me know when you get to the Crawley's"

"Love you too mum. Talk to you later." As soon as Anna hung up she was yelling down the hall. "Gwen!"

Gwen poked her head into the hall and looked at Anna with a knowing grin on her face. "Yes?"

"Have you been talking to my mum behind my back again?"

Gwen just continued to smile. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Now hurry up and get ready or Mary will kill us."

"This isn't over Gwen Dawson!" Anna yelled as she turned into her room to change for their trip.

* * *

John was in meeting after meeting with customers all day. He was helping them organizing summer parties, celebrations of life, as well as several wedding receptions today and he was currently in a meeting with a woman who just didn't seem to understand the concept of the hotel not providing DJs for functions.

"Ma'am, we do not supply DJs." John said again slowly. His patience slowly wearing thin.

"But the website says..." she tried to continue but John cut her off.

"That we have a sound system available for costumer use for their hired DJ."

"Oh. Well then my apologies Mr. Bates. Do you have any recommendations for DJs?"

"Yes ma'am, there should be a list included in the package you received when you first made your booking." John was really starting to get frustrated with this meeting. The only thing helping him keep his cool was the fact that the work day was almost done, and then it would be the weekend.

"Well then I will look through the package again and make the arrangements. Here's the deposit check and thank you for all your help Mr. Bates."

"Of course ma'am. If you have any further questions or concerns don't hesitate to call." He shook her hand goodbye and smiled as she left his office. As soon as she was gone he slumped back into his chair, leaned as far back as possible and put his hands over his face and groaned. The day from hell was finally over.

"Knock knock," John looked up to see Robert standing at his door. "Rough day?"

"You have no idea. You free for a drink later, I need something to ease the pain of the day."

"I really wish I could. The girls friends get in tonight and Cora has already told me that I need to be there. Something about me helping with the cooking."

"She knows you're rubbish in the kitchen right?"

"I am not! But thanks for the confidence friend. It's nice to I know I can always count on your for your support."

"Glad I could be of assistance. Do you know is Charles is still around?"

"I think I just saw him and Elsie leave. But hey why don't you come join us for dinner tonight. You can see the family, and meet the girls friends." John looked like he might protest and Robert continued. "We can have that drink there."

"It's okay Robert. Thank you though. I don't want to intrude on your first night with your guests. I'll be with you guys on the beach anyways, wouldn't want to be there all the time. They'll think I'm apart of the family."

"And what's wrong with that?" Robert sounded slightly offended.

"Absolutely nothing. Now bugger off before your wife blames me for your tardiness."

"Have a good night Bates. Stay out of trouble." Robert waved as he left.

"Always."

* * *

Anna and Gwen were nearing the end of their journey as they came to the end of another one of their road trip CDs. They had been singing along from the beginning, and they were convinced that they should go out for Britain's Got Talent.

"I love Rizzle Kicks!" Gwen said as she took out the cd and put in a new one.

"Never would have guess," joked Anna, "I feel like we've listened to their album three times already."

"Exaggerate much." Gwen groaned. "Well you'll be happy to hear that Tom Tom says we are less than 20 minutes away, and that means you won't have to listen to them any more."

"That won't be soon enough." Anna joked, earning her a should shove from Gwen. "Easy. I am driving, or do you not want to arrive safely?"

"Yeah yeah," Gwen shrugged. "You think I should give Sybil and Mary ring since we'll be arriving earlier then planned?"

"Yeah. Wouldn't want to catch them off guard."

Gwen dialed Mary's number into her phone. She pursed her lips as she waited for the Crawley sister to pick up. "Why hello. Is lady Mary available please." there was a pause as Gwen smiled and Anna just shook her head. "What do you mean you don't go by that name any more?" - "No, no don't hang up. I promise it won't happen again." - "Thank you for being so forgiving. Anyways, I'm calling to let you know that Anna and I are less than twenty minutes away." - "Yes I know we're early." - "I'm as surprised as you are." - "Uh huh." - "Sounds good. See you soon."

As Gwen hung up the phone, Anna sighed and said, "You know she hates it when you call her lady Mary. We'll be sleeping on the streets before we even arrive!"

"Ah don't be so dramatic Anna. She knows I was just teasing." Gwen laughed. "Now let's see what's next on the cd list!"

* * *

Finally arriving at the Crawley's house the girls got out and stretched, Gwen allowing a yawn to escape. They grabbed their bags and made their way up the long gravel path to the front door. Gwen reached up and rang the door bell as Anna was putting down her bag. They waited only a moment before they could hear Mary on the other side of the thick door yelling "Sybil, they're here!" the door opened shortly after, revealing a smiling Mary. "Oh I'm so happy you're both here!"

As they entered the foyer of the house, Sybil came down the stairs. "Ladies! Welcome!" she wrapped them both in a giant hug, "I'm so excited, I've missed you both so much!"

After the exchange of hugs and kisses were exchanged before they made their way upstairs to the bedrooms. Anna gazed around as they walked up the staircase. She had been in this house many times before, but it still manage to take her breath away every time she visited. "I'm not sure how, but I do believe that I had forgotten how large your parent's house is."

They all laughed as they reached the first of the guest bedrooms. "Well we haven't done any renovations to make it bigger, I promise." Sybil said as she reached for the door knob. "This will be where you'll be staying Anna and Gwen you room is just two doors down. We will leave you to get settled while we show Gwen to her room."

As Anna entered the room she felt like she had been transported into another world. The walls were painted a light blue with white wall accents and furniture. It was a large gorgeous room with a giant four post bed. Anna made her way to the side of the bed, running her fingers along the soft comforter. The Crawley's definitely lived a much more lavish lifestyle in comparison to her own. But she wasn't complaining, she would have a very comfortable vacation away with her best friends.

After putting away all her belongs in the closet and dresser, she made her way downstairs where she found Mary, Sybil, and Gwen talking in front of the fire and catching up. "Ah, there you are Anna. We were starting to think you had fallen asleep. Would you like to join us for a cup of tea?" Sybil asked as she walked over to the tea tray.

"Oh yes. I'd love one. It's been a long day on the road." Anna said as she sat in one of the large comfy chairs. Smiling at her friends as Sybil handed her a cup of tea. "So what did I miss?"

* * *

"Dinner was fabulous Cora." Gwen said as she put her napkin on the table.

"Yes very delicious." Anna added.

"Thank you ladies, but I can't take all the credit. Robert did help."

"I do what I can." Robert smiled. "So ladies, any plans for the rest of the evening?"

The four girls looked at one another and then Mary spoke up. "I don't think so. Anna was saying earlier that she wanted to walk down to the village, and Matthew said height come by tonight to meet them but I think I might just tell him to come tomorrow."

"That sounds like a lovely idea. It will give Gwen and Anna the night to get settle and he can always come up to say hello tomorrow."

Anna and Gwen looked at one another and shrugged, "We're fine with whatever works for you. We're not fussy either way." said Anna. "But I will probably still pop out for a walk in the village. Stretch my legs and get some fresh air."

After they all agreed that a quite night in was for the best, the four friends worked together to tidy up after dinner, and they found that they we're able to to finish fairly quickly. Even with Mary winning the entire time about it being servant work. And she wonders why we call her Lady Mary, Anna thought to herself.

As Mary went to call Matthew, and Sybil and Gwen started a game of cards, Anna made her way outside into the warm country air. She loved being away from the city lights, she missed being able to look up at the stars. Although she didn't know any of their names or the stories that went with the constellations, she found them to be very beautiful and relaxing. She also enjoyed the sound of the gravel pathways, and how it crunched under her shoes as she walked away from the large house. I think I could live up here and be very happy, Anna thought as she came to the first little shop window. The window was filled with all sorts of cooking equipment and supplies. The next shop was Anna's favorite, an old bookstore. She always loved scanning the shelves for hidden treasures that many people over looked. Checking her watch, she saw that it was still early enough in the evening to take a quick look around.

Opening the door to the small shop, the bell ringing as the door closed behind her, she was greeted by the friendly shop keeper. Giving her a friendly nod she began scanning the shelves. As Anna ran her fingers along old book binding after book binding, searching for her next great find, she hardly noticed the man standing in the same aisle as her. He was in the middle of reading a book he had pulled off the shelf as Anna accidentally pumped into him, causing him to drop the book.

"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry sir," Anna quickly bent down to pick up the book that had fallen. Looking up, she found herself lost in the gentle eyes of the stranger.

"No harm done." He smiled at her. "I get lost in these old books as well sometimes."

Tucking a couple strands of hair behind her ear as she handed the book back to him, "I'm so embarrassed. I'm sure you were just getting into it too."

"Well I won't lie and say I wasn't, but I've read it many times before to know how it ends anyways." He glanced quickly at his watch, closed the book and slid it back on the shelf. "You have good timing though, I have one more errand to run and I had completely lost track of time, so thank you. Enjoy the rest of your evening." With a friendly nod he walked past her and out of the shop.

All Anna could do was smile as she watched him leave. Lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear the shop keeper come up behind her. "Miss can I help you find anything?"

"Oh you scared me," Anna jumped, placing a hand on her heart, "No I'm fine thank you. I'm just browsing."

"Well I'm just at the front if you have any questions," the shopkeeper smelled as she left Anna to look through the rest of the shelves.

After looking for another little while, she had unfortunately come up empty and left the shop empty handed. She continued along the quiet cobble streets looking in the small shop windows. Although everything was modernized, Anna felt like the small village still had a old time feel to it. As she passed window after window, she came across a new shop that she couldn't remember seeing the last time she had visited. After checking the time she decided she had enough time to go inside and check it out quickly.

She was surprised to find that it was a little tea shop. Although Anna enjoyed her Starbucks in the busy city, this quiet little cafe was perfect in her eyes. Noticing all the canisters of loose tea leaves, and taking in the aroma of the shop, Anna made her way to the register.

"Hi there, what can I get for you?"

"Well I've never actually been here before, so perhaps you could recommend something for me to try?" Anna asked as she smiled at the barista.

"Hmm... Well our most popular drink is a white chia. It has a smoothness to it, as well as it doesn't have too strong of a taste." the barista suggested.

"Sounds lovely. I'll take a medium or grande, please."

Making her way over to the bar after paying for her drink, Anna felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Taking it out she saw she had a text from Mary.

Just checking to make sure you're alright. We Were about to start a movie, and wondered if we should wait for you. Mary x

I'm fine. Just in the new tea shop, and should be back shortly. You can start with out me. Anna x

Just as she was clicking send, the barista behind the bar yelled out "White chia!"

Although she thought that it was strange that her drink would be ready so quickly she grab the drink from the bar. Just as she was about to take a sip, Anna heard a familiar voice behind her.

"I believe that drink has my name on it."

Turning around, Anna found herself face to face with the same guy from the book store. "I'm sorry?" Anna said with a questioning tone.

"I believe if you were to look on the side of the cup you'd find my name on it." he said with a smile.

Slowly spinning the drink in her hand she came across a name, "John?"

"That's me." John said, just as the barista behind the bar yelled out that another white chia was ready at the bar.

"I'm so sorry! It embarrassing enough that I nearly knock you over at the book shop, but now I'm stealing your drink." Anna shacking her head as she went to hand him his drink back, finding that he was grabbing what she assumed to be her drink from the bar.

"No harm done," he looked at the side of the cup. "Anna."

As the pair made their way to the station where the lids and sugar were kept, neither one saying much except they both still carried a small smile about the whole situation. John broke the silence first as he grabbed a sugar packet and a stir stick, "So Anna, do you make it a habit to knock books out of strangers hands, and then steal their drinks?"

Is he trying to flirt with me? Anna thought as she looked at him as she put a lid on her cup, "Actually John, I only do it to blokes I find slightly attractive." Giving him wink and a smile, she walked out of the cafe.

* * *

**A/N: Let me know what you think of the new chapter. I will hopefully have the next chapter up soonish. Happy Downton Sunday!**


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